Theo: Big Z couldn't regain Cubs players' trust

Carlos Zambrano reacts after throwing a pitch that got him ejected from a game against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on August 12, 2011. (Mike Zarrilli, Getty Images)

Carlos Zambrano lost the trust of his teammates after his final meltdown in Atlanta last August, leading baseball president Theo Epstein to bite the bullet and eat most of his $18 million salary in a trade with Miami.

"With respect to subsidizing some of Carlos' contract, I think the concept of a sunk cost was something Tom (Ricketts) and I discussed at our very initial meeting," Epstein said. "Tom showed a keen understanding of what that means. For better or worse, if you're stuck paying $18 million for one year of Carlos Zambrano, and there is not a team willing to take him with any dollar relief whatsoever, then you have to decide were we better off with one year of Carlos at the $18 million paid, or are we better off paying the $18 million and getting a 25-year-old pitcher with three control years?"

The deal with Miami was made official Thursday after the former Cubs pitcher passed his physical, and the Marlins are confident he can thrive under Ozzie Guillen.

Zambrano was dealt to the Marlins, along with cash, for 25-year-old starter Chris Volstad, a former first-rounder who has yet to show consistency but is only two years removed from a 12-9 season.

How much the Cubs will send Miami is dependent on how much Volstad makes. He's expected to get nearly $2.5 to $3 million in arbitration, and that amount will be subtracted from the $18 million the Cubs owed Zambrano, and sent to Miami.

Epstein said the trade talks began this week, after the Cubs spent most of the offseason looking to deal Zambrano. Epstein was resigned to keeping Zambrano only a few days ago, before the Marlins called and said they'd be interested.

Epstein said the options were to release Zambrano and get nothing in return or pay the $15-$16 million and get a player. After polling a number of players, Epstein realized Zambrano could never regain "trust" in the clubhouse after his August walkout left players and management feeling "burned" again.

"I was skeptical," he said, adding: "I'm not big on labels, I'm not big on reputations dictating how I treat people or how I think about people. But this was one that was really consistent. Every player I talked to articulated to me that Carlos really violated their trust. When you're talking about physical altercations with players repeatedly, when you're talking about physically walking out on the team, it's very hard to then have that player come back into the clubhouse and be trusted. In order to be a good teammate, there has to be a certain degree of trust and accountability.

"Do I believe in second chances? Yes. Do I believe in third chances? Yes, in some cases, and even fourth chances. But I think you have to be realistic about it and recognize that players don't dictate decisions like this, but you're trying to establish a certain sense of unity in the clubhouse, and a sense of purpose. ... The players here felt, and the organization feels, like there just wasn't trust there, and it was a risky proposition to see whether that trust could be re-established."

Epstein said there was no "mandate" from Ricketts to deal Zambrano, and that Zambrano told him during their meeting at a Wrigleyville restaurant that he wanted to remain a Cub.

"He said he didn't want to talk about a trade," he said. "He didn't want us to use that word in the discussions. I said, 'That's fine, but just so you know, that's something I think it's our obligation to pursue that, and then we'll have another conversation if and when that becomes a reality.' We weren't able to find any trade partners until this week, so that went on hold."

Epstein declined to say if any players he spoke to believed Zambrano could eventually work his way back into their graces. He said "people that have been around the situation over the years had heard before there was going to be change, they'd heard before there was going to be a new attitude, and they've been burned -- physical altercations, deserting the team, that type of thing. ... It made it clear in my mind this wasn't just a sort of mob mentality, or there was unfair momentum to run this guy out of town."

Larry Beinfest, Miami's president of baseball operations, said former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was "confident" he could keep Zambrano in check and restart his career.

Miami sportscaster Jim Barry asked Beinfest, "Why would you want a guy who has thrown water coolers and cleaned out his locker, he got suspended by his prior team, on your team?"

"We just think that the change of scenery will be beneficial to him," Beinfest said. "I think it'd be (fair) to say, 'Well, is everything going to be perfect, or is it going to be incident-free?' It'd be hard to say that, given the guy's history. But Ozzie is very confident that he can help him. A lot of this is born from ultra-competitiveness.